Tag Archives: The Barbary Pirates

A few weeks ago, I was offered the chance to receive an ARC of the latest Ethan Gage adventure, The Barbary Pirates, by William Dietrich. In less time than it takes a patient on House to shake off a finger pulse oximeter, I leaped at the chance. After all, I love historical action/adventures – why else would The Eight, by Katherine Neville, be one of my favorite books.

In truth, I’d never read an Ethan Gage adventure, but I’m planning on spending some money at new and used bookstores in town, because I am hooked.

At the risk of ruining the plot, because this book is a mystery, or at least a puzzle, I won’t rehash it. What I will say is this: The Barbary Pirates is a wonderful swashbuckling adventure through history, and includes Napoleon and Robert Fulton as characters, has the Lousiana Purchase and the first submarine as important plot keys, and involves Atlantis, Egyptian History, and a mysterious and creepy (not to mention dangerous) organization called the Egyptian Rite, and of course, all of this has to do with a race to find the Mirror of Archimedes – the device rumored to have incinerated a Spanish fleet – before the “bad guys” can do so.

With romance, action, mystery, and historical figures popping up (Ben Franklin is quoted. A lot.) willy-nilly, this book is a wonderful romp akin to the National Treasure movies and Clive Cussler’s novels. Translation: it’s great fun, and you HAVE to read it.

This review is based on an uncorrected proof of the book. The Barbary Pirates will be available at your favorite bookstore on Tuesday, March 30th.

What I’m Writing: MissMeliss.com

The Brief No… we started our journey on a ship at sea, so lets end it with some “Land Ahoy!” Write about the destination… the port, the land, the horizon, the future… The Excerpt ZOE (sighing) So much has changed, Basil. When we met, you were primarily a scientist, an explorer… then the war happened, […]

The Brief How frustrating is it when you have to deliver something to a deadline, only to realise afterwards what you could have done better. So this is your opportunity to re-do a challenge. Pick any of the previous 26 challenges we’ve done, and write a NEW play following that brief. I bet you’ve […]

The Brief Find an expression, an idiom, a cliche, etc…and use it as a literal impetus for the play. Perhaps write a play about an apple standing at the gate and fighting a doctor? Perhaps a monologue by one patch of grass, envyingly looking at another’s greenness? Perhaps a tree trying desperately to tell a dog […]

What I’m Saying: The Bathtub Mermaid

Description: #Audio. #Blog This will be our year. All of ours. Excerpt: I know I’m not the only person who was more than ready to kick 2018 out the door, and welcome in the promise of a new year. Like a brand new pad of drawing paper, a brand new spiral notebook, a brand new […]

Description: #Audio. #Blog Entenmann’s coffeecake – the taste of home. Excerpt: And more often than not, the dessert would be an Entenmann’s coffeecake. The kind with a crumb topping and pastry cheese filling. That taste, slightly metallic from the foil tray, but always just enough sweetness to temper the strongest of coffees (or the brattiest […]

Description: #Audio. #Blog Musings on trains, real and toy. Excerpt: Train whistles never sound anything but mournful. My friend Stonefish says it’s just the physics of sound, but I think it’s more. I think there’s a romanticism associated with trains that never quite leaves us. Links and References Read the text of this piece at […]